Sunday, March 20, 2011

What would you name if I asked you to recall a few things you had badly wanted as a kid but had never had?

Mine are a train set toy and a two story bed.

Train set. A metal one, from the East Germany, the ultimate gift I, a six year old boy in the USSR, could have wished for. It was expensive, would likely cost a good part of what my dad was making a month, if you could find it. No store had it. Your family should have had connections to get it delivered from the place of origin.

Two story bed. I was growing up with my younger brother and we were sharing the room for as long as I remember myself, up to the point when I left to start my own family. As a kid I saw a two story bed once or twice and it must have penetrated my memories so deep I still cannot get it out.

My son is eight and a half. He had number of different train sets made of metal and wood and plastic and stopped playing them all a while ago. His younger sister is two and a half and they rarely share a bedroom but he enjoys the second story of his two story bed. I told him how much I once wanted to have one when I was a kid so he offered me the second story on the night it was brought in and assembled. I let him enjoy it and kept my memories :)

Last winter I took my whole family skiing up north in New Hampshire. We shared a nice big house right on the mountain with two other friend families, our rooms where on the first floor and one had a two story bed in it. The bed was higher than usual, my son found it uncomfortable to be too close to the ceiling so I took it. Next night I sprained my ankle getting down at night, must have missed a rung or something. Did not enjoy much climbing it back and forth in the upcoming few days but still love my memories of not having it as a kid :)